Broad Annual Goals for Saskatchewan Home-Based Education: Examples and Templates

The blank page where your "broad annual goals" are supposed to go is one of the most paralyzing moments in Saskatchewan homeschooling. You know your child. You know what you're teaching. But when a school division form asks you to write a minimum of three broad annual goals per subject for Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies — that's twelve statements minimum, and the form gives you no examples.

This post explains exactly what a broad annual goal is, what it isn't, and gives you ready-to-adapt examples for every major subject and age range.

What Saskatchewan Law Actually Requires

The Home-based Education Program Regulations, 2015 specify that your Written Educational Plan (WEP) must include a minimum of three broad annual goals for each of the four mandatory areas of study: Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. That's the legal floor. The regulations do not require you to transcribe outcomes from the Saskatchewan provincial curriculum grade-by-grade. Your goals must be age-appropriate, ability-appropriate, and broadly consistent with the Goals of Education for Saskatchewan — a document that emphasizes literacy, critical thinking, civic participation, and lifelong learning.

The important word here is broad. A broad annual goal is not a daily lesson plan. It is not a curriculum outcome statement. It is a high-level intention for the year — something a school division official can read in ten seconds and understand that your child is engaged with a subject in a meaningful, progressive way.

What Makes a Goal "Legally Acceptable"

A compliant broad annual goal has three informal components:

1. A subject-specific skill or concept — something clearly tied to Language Arts, Math, Science, or Social Studies.
2. A direction of growth — words like "develop," "explore," "strengthen," "apply," or "demonstrate" indicate progression.
3. Age or stage appropriateness — the goal should reflect where the child actually is, not where a grade-level chart says they should be.

School division officials are not looking for perfection. They are looking for evidence that you have thought deliberately about your child's education. Using language that sounds educational — even if it's describing activities you were already doing anyway — is the key skill here.

Example Goals by Subject and Stage

Language Arts

Elementary (approximately Grades 1–5):

• Develop foundational reading fluency through daily independent reading of fiction and non-fiction texts selected to match current reading level and interest.
• Strengthen written communication skills by producing regular short-form writing, including journal entries, book responses, and descriptive paragraphs.
• Expand vocabulary and oral comprehension through read-aloud sessions, narration exercises, and structured discussion of literature.

Middle Years (approximately Grades 6–9):

• Develop analytical writing skills by composing structured essays, research reports, and persuasive arguments on topics of personal and academic interest.
• Strengthen reading comprehension and literary analysis through engagement with a range of genres, including classic literature, contemporary fiction, and non-fiction.
• Apply grammar, mechanics, and style conventions in a variety of written and digital communication contexts.

Secondary (approximately Grades 10–12):

• Develop advanced critical reading and textual analysis skills in preparation for post-secondary academic writing.
• Produce polished, independently researched essays and reports demonstrating command of argument, evidence, and source citation.
• Strengthen verbal communication through structured presentations, debates, and recorded oral projects.

Mathematics

Elementary:

• Develop number sense and computational fluency through the four operations, with increasing emphasis on multi-digit problems and mental math strategies.
• Explore measurement, geometry, and spatial reasoning through hands-on, practical activities including cooking, building, and nature observation.
• Apply mathematical thinking to real-world contexts such as budgeting, timekeeping, and pattern recognition.

Middle Years:

• Strengthen algebraic reasoning by solving equations, working with variables, and identifying patterns in numerical and geometric sequences.
• Develop proportional thinking and number sense through fractions, decimals, percentages, and ratio problems.
• Apply mathematical problem-solving strategies to multi-step, real-world scenarios including finance, data analysis, and measurement.

Secondary:

• Develop fluency in functions, trigonometry, and foundational calculus concepts in preparation for post-secondary mathematics.
• Strengthen statistical reasoning by collecting, organizing, representing, and interpreting data using appropriate mathematical tools.
• Apply mathematical modeling to science, economics, and technology contexts, demonstrating the capacity to select and justify appropriate methods.

Science

Elementary:

• Explore foundational concepts in life science, earth science, and physical science through observation, experimentation, and nature study.
• Develop scientific inquiry habits by asking questions, making predictions, conducting simple experiments, and recording observations.
• Build awareness of local Saskatchewan ecosystems, seasonal cycles, and environmental stewardship through outdoor learning and farm-based study.

Middle Years:

• Investigate biological systems, chemical properties, and physical forces through structured experiments and research projects.
• Develop scientific literacy by reading, evaluating, and summarizing non-fiction science texts and media.
• Apply scientific reasoning to environmental and community issues relevant to Saskatchewan, including agriculture, climate, and natural resources.

Secondary:

• Demonstrate understanding of chemistry, biology, or physics concepts at a level consistent with Saskatchewan Grade 10–12 curriculum expectations.
• Design and execute independent science investigations demonstrating hypothesis formation, data collection, analysis, and conclusion writing.
• Evaluate the social, ethical, and environmental implications of current scientific and technological issues.

Social Studies

Elementary:

• Develop an understanding of family, community, and Saskatchewan's place within Canada through projects, literature, and community involvement.
• Explore Indigenous history and Treaty relationships in Saskatchewan, including Cree and Métis contributions to the province's culture and history.
• Build map skills, geographic awareness, and understanding of how physical environments shape human communities.

Middle Years:

• Examine Canadian history from Indigenous peoples and European contact through Confederation to the present, with emphasis on Saskatchewan's role.
• Develop civic literacy by studying the structure of Canadian government, rights and responsibilities, and democratic participation.
• Analyze how geography, economy, and culture interact across different regions and time periods.

Secondary:

• Demonstrate understanding of global history, geopolitics, and current events through structured research and analysis.
• Develop critical perspectives on social justice, colonialism, reconciliation, and civic responsibility within a Canadian context.
• Apply social sciences methodology — including primary source analysis, perspective-taking, and argument construction — to historical and contemporary issues.

The Periodic Log: Where Goals Become Evidence

Writing your goals is only the first step. Throughout the year, the periodic log is how you demonstrate that you actually pursued those goals. Saskatchewan's policy manual does not require a daily log or daily attendance record. A periodic log needs to provide a high-level summary of educational activities — think monthly or bi-weekly summaries, not daily lesson reports.

A workable periodic log entry for a Middle Years student might look like this:

October: Completed chapters 4–7 of the math curriculum covering fractions and decimals. Read two novels independently. Began a research project on Saskatchewan Treaty history. Participated in the SHBE November co-op field trip to the Royal Saskatchewan Museum.

That single paragraph, filed consistently throughout the year, satisfies the legal requirement for a periodic log. If you maintain it weekly in fifteen-minute increments — noting major activities, books read, projects underway — you will have a complete, legally defensible record by June without any end-of-year scramble.

If your school division asks for samples of work alongside the log, they may only legally require "sufficient samples" to substantiate progress toward your stated goals. They cannot demand every worksheet, every test, or every notebook page. Two or three strong pieces per goal per term is ample.

Connecting Goals to Your Progress Report

When June arrives, your Annual Progress Report must address each broad annual goal you stated in September. For each goal, you write a brief summative record — a three-to-four sentence paragraph noting whether the goal was met, what evidence supports that conclusion, and any areas still developing. You then attach one or two sample pieces of student work per goal.

Because your goals are broad, this summative process is straightforward. A goal like "develop analytical writing skills through essays and research reports" can be addressed with two writing samples and three sentences of your own assessment. You do not need to prove mastery of every curriculum outcome in the provincial document.

If you want pre-formatted templates for writing your WEP goals, your periodic log, and your year-end summative records — with exemplars already filled in across grade brackets and philosophies — the complete Saskatchewan compliance toolkit is at /ca/saskatchewan/portfolio/.

A Final Note on Translation

The most useful skill in Saskatchewan home-based education administration is translation: taking what your child is actually doing and describing it in the language school divisions recognize. A child who bakes bread every week is doing applied mathematics (measurement, ratios, fractions), science (chemistry, fermentation, heat transfer), and potentially Social Studies (food history, cultural traditions). A child who raises chickens is doing biology, ecology, and agricultural science.

Your goals do not need to describe elaborate formal curricula. They need to describe real learning in educational language. Once you see that the two things are the same — that your child's daily life is their curriculum — writing broad annual goals becomes much less intimidating.

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